Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1113

Chapter 1113: Chapter 1113

That night, they lit no fire. They slept in silence, close together. Sophie clung to Jude. Emma kept a blade under her pillow. Only Natalie and Lucy were missing now.

And in the shadows, Jude could feel them circling.

Waiting for the last cracks to form.

The night didn’t end, it simply changed shape. Jude sat upright in the bed, the soft weight of Sophie curled beside him not enough to calm the tension coiled in his chest. He hadn’t slept, not really. Every sound from outside had him flinching, listening. Each gust of wind against the wooden walls could’ve been Rose. Or Layla. Or Zoey. Or now, Stella. Their numbers were dwindling. Their circle was shrinking. And the ones still holding on were running out of room to breathe.

He slipped from beneath the blanket carefully, pressing a soft kiss to Sophie’s temple before rising and padding silently to the doorway. The moon was high, casting long silver bars across the clearing. He could see Grace and Susan by the edge of the trees, laughing softly, their arms twined. The fire was long dead, but they didn’t seem cold. He watched them for a moment, noting the way they moved, like they floated just above the ground, like gravity didn’t quite have hold of them anymore.

Emma appeared beside him without a sound. "They don’t sleep," she whispered.

He nodded. "It’s like they don’t need to."

She glanced toward the trees. "Did you hear the humming again?"

"Only for a second," he said. "It’s quieter now. Like it’s not meant for us anymore."

"We have to act before it gets any worse."

He turned to her. "We’re outnumbered, Emma."

"Then we even the odds." Her eyes were sharp. "Before Lucy and Natalie return."

They waited for dawn. When the sun finally rose, the light didn’t bring relief. It felt thin. Pale. The warmth didn’t bite through the chill in Jude’s bones. Sophie joined them at the table, her fingers twined tightly with his. "Where’s Stella?"

"She was here an hour ago," Emma said. "By the water with Zoey."

"I’ll find her," Jude said.

He followed the sound of voices until he reached the river. And there she was, Stella, her feet dipped into the water, her back bare, hair wet as though she’d just bathed. Zoey sat behind her, brushing her hair with fingers instead of a comb, their bodies too close. Zoey’s lips hovered near her neck. Stella was giggling softly.

Jude stopped. "Stella?"

Both turned.

She smiled at him. The same smile.

His chest sank.

Zoey rose slowly and approached him, one finger tracing the line of his shirt. "You should’ve joined us," she whispered. "The water is perfect this morning."

He stepped back. "When did it happen?"

Stella looked up at him with soft eyes. "It didn’t hurt," she said. "Not like I thought it would."

"You were scared."

"I’m not anymore."

He shook his head, fighting the rising heat of grief. "I’m not letting it happen again."

"Letting?" Zoey repeated, her smile amused. "Jude... you never had control to begin with."

He turned and walked away without another word. His hands were trembling by the time he returned to camp. Sophie met him halfway, reading his expression before he spoke.

"It’s done," he said.

"She’s gone."

That evening, they planned. Jude, Sophie, and Emma gathered in secret beneath the old tree by the cliffside, the place they used to go to watch storms rolling in. Now it would serve as their last sanctuary. They scrawled watcherscript symbols they still remembered into the ground, using stone and ash. Jude poured what little remained of their ritual oil into a circle.

"We lure them here," he said. "We burn the mark beneath them. And we break the chain."

"If it even works," Emma added.

"It has to."

But as the sun dropped lower and the shadows grew longer, something changed.

Natalie came home.

She appeared at the edge of the trees just as night fell, alone, her dress torn at the edges, her face pale. She stumbled into the clearing like she didn’t know where she was, like she’d been running for days. Jude ran to her first, catching her before she fell.

"They’re coming," she whispered.

"Who?" he asked, though he already knew.

"They’re all together now. Rose... she’s changed again. She’s stronger."

Emma knelt beside them. "Are you still you, Nat?"

Natalie looked up at her with trembling eyes. "I never stopped being me. But they’re in my head. And they’re getting louder."

Sophie looked over her shoulder, watching the dark treeline. "Then we don’t have much time."

That night, they gathered everyone, corrupted and uncorrupted alike, in the clearing.

Rose stepped forward, flawless, glowing. "So many games," she said softly. "So much running. We only ever wanted you with us."

Jude didn’t answer. He stepped toward the ritual circle, hands open. "Then take me."

Sophie gasped. "Jude, "

But he met her gaze, and she stopped. She saw the plan in his eyes.

Rose’s smile widened. "Finally," she whispered. "Come home."

He stepped into the circle, and the moment she moved to follow, Emma lit the match.

The watcherscript ignited with a hiss of fire and light, a column of heat surging between Jude and the rest. Rose screamed, not in pain, but in fury. The others froze, shielded their eyes. Light poured from the circle, rising like smoke toward the sky. The earth trembled beneath their feet.

And then Natalie screamed.

Jude turned to see her writhing on the ground, her back arching. Her fingers dug into the dirt. The fire reflected in her eyes, and for a moment, she looked clear. Pure.

Then she collapsed.

Emma rushed to her side. "Natalie!"

She opened her eyes slowly. "I saw it. I saw the thing behind them. It’s not from here."

"What is it?"

"A root. A worm. A god. I don’t know. It’s inside her now."

Jude turned to the circle. The fire had burned itself out, leaving only ash.